Back To School Routines For Kids

If you have recently heard rumblings in your area, it is probably got something to do with going back to school. In my neighborhood, the kids are collectively groaning while the moms are secretly cheering! Summer is almost over and the time to get the kids back to school is just days away. One of the threads of conversation in many mommy circles is getting kids back into their school routine. I know in my house during the summer, the kids stay up a little later and our eating schedules are not as strict. We are on the go so much that we eat at various times of the day and we are not always in bed as early as we should be. When school is back in session, we will get back in sync with our earlier bedtimes and sitting down for dinner by 6:00. I know at least for my kids, they may complain but they really do so much better when they are on a regular schedule.

Back To School Routines For Kids

To make the transition from summer routines to back to school routines for kids, I have a little list that I follow. About 3 weeks before the new school year begins, I have my own little A,B,C’s of Back To School. Here is what we do in my house:

Appetites:With summer, comes sweets, treats and lots of fun food to eat. When it is time to get back to school, we make adjustments to our menus and how we eat. We tend to do a lot of picnic style meals as we are out a lot during the summer. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but a hot meal is a good thing! Instead of cold sandwiches, chips and veggie sticks, I replace those with pot roasts or baked chickens, creamy hot mashed potatoes and steamed mixed vegetables. Now that the kids have access to a microwave in the lunchroom, I can pack items they can heat up so they get a hot meal at school as well.

Bedtimes:During the school year, my teenager has a bedtime of 10:00 but in the summer, I let her stay up until midnight. We tend to have a lot of late night chick flick marathons and we need that extra time! During the summer, it is so easy to just let the kids sleep in until they are ready to get up. When school is here, if my daughter does not get her 10 hours of sleep, she is so unprepared for her day. About 3 weeks before school starts, I start to trim her bedtime back to 11:00 and 1.5 weeks later, we are back to 10:00. This way, she does not have such a huge gap of time we are fighting to get her to fall asleep.

Curriculum: I am lucky to have kids who love to read, so even during the summer, they always have a book handy. One of the toughest areas we struggle with when getting back to school is the workload. The kids seem to be bombarded with homework and after 3 months of not doing any, it is like a shock. To avoid this, we will have math or science quizzes and we will play a lot of vocabulary games. This keeps them on their toes and gets them ready for that workload they know is coming!

One area that we are very strict about in our home are the kids vitamins. No matter how much sleep they get or how balanced their meals are, they still need their vitamins. Our family prefers the L’il Critters Gummy Vites because the kids really love the way they taste. I have a child with swallowing issues and if I get a gummy product that has a “medicinal” flavor, he will not go near it. The delicious flavors of the Gummy Vites are why my kids look forward to taking them! We not only take the Gummy Vites, but we also love the Fiber Gummy Bears which helps our youngest with the digestive problems he has on a regular basis. By making sure my kids are eating well, getting enough sleep and are taking their Gummy Vites, I know they are well prepared to start back to school this August!

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